October 6, 2025

Doñana to Sanlúcar de Barrameda

After an excellent first day, we set off with smiles on our faces, convinced that the cycle path we were on would quickly take us to the ferry to Sanlucar de Barrameda. Huge mistake, terrible miscalculation! After a few kilometers, we realized that the bike path ended at the beginning of the Doñana beach and that there were 32 km of sand separating us from the ferry. What is to be done? First, we started asking passersby, but we didn't immediately get any reliable information. So we ventured onto the beach, pushing our bikes, and at this point a fisherman wisely asked us what we're doing and, hearing our plans, told us that it couldn't be done, not at that point of the day for sure. The tide was rising and would continue to rise for at least another two hours, making it impossible to cycle on the narrow strip of packed sand. We decide to wait a couple of hours and try again. What's 32 km of beach if we can cycle? We set off in the early afternoon, sure that the tide should be at its lowest around 6pm just for realasing only later that low tide would be much much later. For the first few meters everything seems to be smooth, I had just to rearrange my bags moving some things to the rear, keeping lighter the front wheel. I manage to go a few more meters but soon got stuck again. Maybe I'm the problem! Am I too heavy? Meanwhile, Benjo has let some air out of his tubeless tires and manages to ride pretty well. If it weren't for the strong headwind that has picked up in the meantime, I think he would have make it. After a few hours of pushing my bike, and with Benjo no longer in sight, I feel extremely frustrated and tired. We will never make it to the last boat of the day at 8pm. At one point, two pickups pass on my side. I wave, but the they ignore me. I lose all hope. Then something unexpected happens! One pickup appears on the horizon and came towards me and few moments later I spotted a smiling Benjo sticking his head out of the back of the truck. Benjo managed to stop them and found a ride for us to the end of the beach! Jose', the park ranger to whom we owe our survival in Doñana, welcomes me with a big smile and in a few seconds my bike is loaded into the back of the pickup truck, ready to set off. What a remarkable moment! Talking about fauna, flora, immigrant boats, and abandoned smugglers' boats, we reach the end of the beach, a few hundred meters from the flag that marks the ferry's landing place. We wait 10 minutes and here it comes! It looks more like a landing boat than a ferry. 10 euros for a 5-minute crossing seems a bit excessive, but after this day we pay in a blink of an eye. And the surprises don't end there: we decide to to stop in a campsite about 10 km from Sanlucas. When arrived at the campsite we discovered that the first night is free for cycle tourists, and the campsite is really nice and comfy.